Official Silver Lining thread

[Mickey]

Now that those who have no tolerance for stress have already jumped off the nearest bridge, those of us still around need some cheering up. Here are some of the good things that happened on Sunday that, hopefully, bode well for the future, the near future as in next week. Hopefully.

 

1. Lindell is on fire.

 

2. Of the 7 third or fourth downs we converted, 5 of them were accomplished by JP. On third and 14 he ran for 19 keeping our first drive alive. He scrambled for 3 on 3rd and 2 on our next drive. Both drives resulted in field goals. He hit Reed for 17 on a 3rd and 6 keeping alive the drive that ended in our only touchdown. He hit Aiken for 12 on a 3rd and 6 setting up another field goal. He also had that QB sneak for a first on 4th and 1 from our own 34 early in the 4th. As "bad" as he played, he still made some plays. All the tools are in the box with this kid. The only question is how long will it take?

 

3. Willis, 140 yards speaks for itself. Looking inside those numbers, what I really like is what he did on first down. Before that last drive where they were playing pass and we ran Willis a few times and he piled up 30 yards on 3 first down carries, Willis had 13 first down runs for 45 yards, a 3.4 yard average. ON 6 of those, he gained better than 3 yards which I think is the benchmark for being able to dictate to the defense on second down. If you add in the last series, those numbers improve drastically. I'm not including it just to make that point that even if you take out his best series in terms of first down runs, he still had a good day on first down. We managed all this with Mike Williams out.

 

4. We only had 3 penalties and two of them were namby pamby calls on what were, on replay, perfectly legit hits on Vick.

 

As frustrating as this game was to watch, we really did have some opportunities and the difference in the game was their ability to make red zone plays and our inability to do so. We had two critical blown coverages, one on Jenkin's second TD and another on a play that led to Atlanta's first TD. We had them at 2nd and 14 and Jenkins was somehow totally uncovered on a 2 yard catch and run that went for over 20 yards. Conversely, JP was sacked on a first down roll out for a loss of 12 on our first series. Later we had a 3rd and 4 from the Atlanta 13 and, as is typical, we pulled Willis out and put in Shaud. We then ran some sort of toss sweep to Fast Freddie who managed to fake himself out of his shoes trying to figure out whether to cut inside or outside the WR's block.

 

Frankly, I think the lack of redzone production was more a product of the calls than execution. Really, with the game on the line and needing 3 or 4 yards, why would you have the best player on the team on the sidelines drinking Gatorade?

 

Guys, we aren't that bad. Tampa is 3-0 and Atlanta is going to win their division...again. If we manage to improve here and there, we are going to be a handful even for the best teams.

[PromoTheRobot]

Don't forget Tampa and Atlanta are non-conference foes. If you are going to lose, those are the games that hurt you the least. Not that playing Miami and New England is going to be any easier. But at least we have a little time to fix what's wrong...assuming it's fixable.

 

PTR

[nick in* england]

1. Lindell is on fire.

This needs to be more expensive lining than silver.

[Mickey]

This needs to be more expensive lining than silver.

454884[/snapback]

As unexpected as it is welcome. A kicker with some confidence is a good thing to have.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Now that those who have no tolerance for stress have already jumped off the nearest bridge, those of us still around need some cheering up.  Here are some of the good things that happened on Sunday that, hopefully, bode well for the future, the near future as in next week.  Hopefully.

 

1. Lindell is on fire.

 

2. Of the 7 third or fourth downs we converted, 5 of them were accomplished by JP.  On third and 14 he ran for 19 keeping our first drive alive.  He scrambled for 3 on 3rd and 2 on our next drive.  Both drives resulted in field goals.  He hit Reed for 17 on a 3rd and 6 keeping alive the drive that ended in our only touchdown.  He hit Aiken for 12 on a 3rd and 6 setting up another field goal.  He also had that QB sneak for a first on 4th and 1 from our own 34 early in the 4th.  As "bad" as he played, he still made some plays.  All the tools are in the box with this kid.  The only question is how long will it take?

 

3. Willis, 140 yards speaks for itself.  Looking inside those numbers, what I really like is what he did on first down.  Before that last drive where they were playing pass and we ran Willis a few times and he piled up 30 yards on 3 first down carries, Willis had 13 first down runs for 45 yards, a 3.4 yard average.  ON 6 of those, he gained better than 3 yards which I think is the benchmark for being able to dictate to the defense on second down.  If you add in the last series, those numbers improve drastically.  I'm not including it just to make that point that even if you take out his best series in terms of first down runs, he still had a good day on first down.  We managed all this with Mike Williams out.

 

4. We only had 3 penalties and two of them were namby pamby calls on what were, on replay, perfectly legit hits on Vick. 

 

As frustrating as this game was to watch, we really did have some opportunities and the difference in the game was their ability to make red zone plays and our inability to do so.  We had two critical blown coverages, one on Jenkin's second TD and another on a play that led to Atlanta's first TD.  We had them at 2nd and 14 and Jenkins was somehow totally uncovered on a 2 yard catch and run that went for over 20 yards.  Conversely, JP was sacked on a first down roll out for a loss of 12 on our first series.  Later we had a 3rd and 4 from the Atlanta 13 and, as is typical, we pulled Willis out and put in Shaud.  We then ran some sort of toss sweep to Fast Freddie who managed to fake himself out of his shoes trying to figure out whether to cut inside or outside the WR's block.

 

Frankly, I think the lack of redzone production was more a product of the calls than execution.  Really, with the game on the line and needing 3 or 4 yards, why would you have the best player on the team on the sidelines drinking Gatorade?

 

Guys, we aren't that bad.  Tampa is 3-0 and Atlanta is going to win their division...again.  If we manage to improve here and there, we are going to be a handful even for the best teams.

454874[/snapback]

 

 

Micky, I can't believe I'm saying this, but.....God bless you. That was as sane and rational a post as I've seen the past 24 hours. Not sure if my agreeing with you is a sign of the apocalypse, but I agree with you 100%.

[Bill from NYC]

Ok Mick. Who wants to only be negative?

 

1) I still like our DEs. Not many teams have a better pair, and this is an awfully hard position to fill.

 

2) Stamer and Crowell will be getting their chance to show what, if anything, they can do. This is a reach, I know.

 

3) The N.O. quarterback, though quite mobile, will seem like Bledsoe after playing vs. Vick.

 

4) Travis let down the Titans, not the Bills. Sorry, I just had to say it.

[RuntheDamnBall]

4) Travis let down the Titans, not the Bills. Sorry, I just had to say it. 

454916[/snapback]

We would be disappointed in you if you didn't.

[IDBillzFan]

Mickey, you're an ass , but this is a very good thread and I appreciate the optimism. We may very well suck for the remainder of the year, but the fact remains that there will always be something good to look for. To be honest, I'm not sure what everyone was expecting, but to throw in the towel after a 1-2 start simply because we look crappy so far...well...that's unfortunate.

 

Granted, I've never played the game. In fact, I've never even coached high school football, so you know I'm way out of line for even commenting, however every skilled athlete I've ever known all say the same thing: the more the game slows down, the better you get. To me, this game is too fast for our quarterback right now, and this contributes to many of his errant throws.

 

Look at Eli Manning. The dude was gettng his clock cleaned last year, but near the end of the season he started improving, and if you watched him last night you could clearly see the game slowing down for him. That is not to say that JP is like Eli, but rather to suggest that if JP didn't get hurt last year, we probably would have seen him week 5, and the games he's playing today are games he would have been playing last year. His development is officially under way...plain and simple.

 

I wonder how many of the Dallas fans cheering for Aikman's Ring of Honor tribute last week were also standing around during his 1-15 rookie season suggesting that he sucks ass and needs to be benched.

 

Fortunately, Bills fans are extremely knowledgable. That's how they all knew that Lindell and Reed would suck this year.

[34-78-83]

Excellent post Mickey. I sure needed it too...

[RuntheDamnBall]

Mickey, you're an ass , but this is a very good thread and I appreciate the optimism. We may very well suck for the remainder of the year, but the fact remains that there will always be something good to look for. To be honest, I'm not sure what everyone was expecting, but to throw in the towel after a 1-3 start simply because we look crappy so far...well...that's unfortunate.

454931[/snapback]

AHEM. We're 1-2

I wonder how many of the Dallas fans cheering for Aikman's Ring of Honor tribute last week were also standing around during his 1-15 rookie season suggesting that he sucks ass and needs to be benched.

454931[/snapback]

Probably most of them. Good thing teams aren't run by the fans, huh? Course, they DID have a huge stockpile of draft picks.

[Alaska Darin]

1. Lindell is on fire.

454874[/snapback]

I'll believe that when he's not kicking in the near perfect conditions he's currently enjoying.

[Mickey]

Mickey, you're an ass , but this is a very good thread and I appreciate the optimism. We may very well suck for the remainder of the year, but the fact remains that there will always be something good to look for. To be honest, I'm not sure what everyone was expecting, but to throw in the towel after a 1-3 start simply because we look crappy so far...well...that's unfortunate.

 

Granted, I've never played the game. In fact, I've never even coached high school football, so you know I'm way out of line for even commenting, however every skilled athlete I've ever known all say the same thing: the more the game slows down, the better you get. To me, this game is too fast for our quarterback right now, and this contributes to many of his errant throws.

 

Look at Eli Manning. The dude was gettng his clock cleaned last year, but near the end of the season he started improving, and if you watched him last night you could clearly see the game slowing down for him. That is not to say that JP is like Eli, but rather to suggest that if JP didn't get hurt last year, we probably would have seen him week 5, and the games he's playing today are games he would have been playing last year. His development is officially under way...plain and simple.

 

I wonder how many of the Dallas fans cheering for Aikman's Ring of Honor tribute last week were also standing around during his 1-15 rookie season suggesting that he sucks ass and needs to be benched.

 

Fortunately, Bills fans are extremely knowledgable. That's how they all knew that Lindell and Reed would suck this year.

454931[/snapback]

If you get a chance, look at film of Favre when he was with the Falcons. He was so bad that Ryan Leaf would have been an improvement. I saw some of that footage a few weeks ago on some ESPN classic show where they were trying to show that at the time, Atlanta made the right decision in letting him go.

 

As much as those off the mark passes are seared into our minds from yesterday, we should also remember that 19 yard dash on 3rd and 14. Its just too early to bury this kid or this team. By the way, we are 1-2, not 1-3. All that was decided yesterday is that we aren't going to go 15-1.

[Ramius]

Now that those who have no tolerance for stress have already jumped off the nearest bridge, those of us still around need some cheering up.  Here are some of the good things that happened on Sunday that, hopefully, bode well for the future, the near future as in next week.  Hopefully.

 

1. Lindell is on fire.

 

2. Of the 7 third or fourth downs we converted, 5 of them were accomplished by JP.  On third and 14 he ran for 19 keeping our first drive alive.  He scrambled for 3 on 3rd and 2 on our next drive.  Both drives resulted in field goals.  He hit Reed for 17 on a 3rd and 6 keeping alive the drive that ended in our only touchdown.  He hit Aiken for 12 on a 3rd and 6 setting up another field goal.  He also had that QB sneak for a first on 4th and 1 from our own 34 early in the 4th.  As "bad" as he played, he still made some plays.  All the tools are in the box with this kid.  The only question is how long will it take?

 

3. Willis, 140 yards speaks for itself.  Looking inside those numbers, what I really like is what he did on first down.  Before that last drive where they were playing pass and we ran Willis a few times and he piled up 30 yards on 3 first down carries, Willis had 13 first down runs for 45 yards, a 3.4 yard average.  ON 6 of those, he gained better than 3 yards which I think is the benchmark for being able to dictate to the defense on second down.  If you add in the last series, those numbers improve drastically.  I'm not including it just to make that point that even if you take out his best series in terms of first down runs, he still had a good day on first down.  We managed all this with Mike Williams out.

 

4. We only had 3 penalties and two of them were namby pamby calls on what were, on replay, perfectly legit hits on Vick. 

 

As frustrating as this game was to watch, we really did have some opportunities and the difference in the game was their ability to make red zone plays and our inability to do so.  We had two critical blown coverages, one on Jenkin's second TD and another on a play that led to Atlanta's first TD.  We had them at 2nd and 14 and Jenkins was somehow totally uncovered on a 2 yard catch and run that went for over 20 yards.  Conversely, JP was sacked on a first down roll out for a loss of 12 on our first series.  Later we had a 3rd and 4 from the Atlanta 13 and, as is typical, we pulled Willis out and put in Shaud.  We then ran some sort of toss sweep to Fast Freddie who managed to fake himself out of his shoes trying to figure out whether to cut inside or outside the WR's block.

 

Frankly, I think the lack of redzone production was more a product of the calls than execution.  Really, with the game on the line and needing 3 or 4 yards, why would you have the best player on the team on the sidelines drinking Gatorade?

 

Guys, we aren't that bad.  Tampa is 3-0 and Atlanta is going to win their division...again.  If we manage to improve here and there, we are going to be a handful even for the best teams.

454874[/snapback]

 

<clap clap clap> great post mickey...a refreshing read compared to all the doom and gloom...sure this tea has some problems, but there are some good things we've done, and now we're gonna get a long look at our backup LB's and see just how good they are...the season's not over, sure it may be rocky, and JP's not playing well, but its a long season, and he'll get better...

[Mickey]

<clap clap clap> great post mickey...a refreshing read compared to all the doom and gloom...sure this tea has some problems, but there are some good things we've done, and now we're gonna get a long look at our backup LB's and see just how good they are...the season's not over, sure it may be rocky, and JP's not playing well, but its a long season, and he'll get better...

454964[/snapback]

Time for us all to put the cyanide back on the shelf.

[IDBillzFan]

If you get a chance, look at film of Favre when he was with the Falcons.  He was so bad that Ryan Leaf would have been an improvement.  I saw some of that footage a few weeks ago on some ESPN classic show where they were trying to show that at the time, Atlanta made the right decision in letting him go. 

 

As much as those off the mark passes are seared into our minds from yesterday, we should also remember that 19 yard dash on 3rd and 14.  Its just too early to bury this kid or this team.  By the way, we are 1-2, not 1-3.  All that was decided yesterday is that we aren't going to go 15-1.

454957[/snapback]

I understand and appreciate the desire for immediate gratification , but if you want immediate gratification on a consistent basis, this is the wrong sport. (I corrected the typo...thanks).

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Time for us all to put the cyanide back on the shelf.

454967[/snapback]

 

Some of us never took it down.

[Ramius]

Time for us all to put the cyanide back on the shelf.

454967[/snapback]

 

no, actually i hope that some of these bridge jumpers actually jump after one of the games...this place will make for much more reasonable conversation then...

[zook]

Now that those who have no tolerance for stress have already jumped off the nearest bridge, those of us still around need some cheering up.  Here are some of the good things that happened on Sunday that, hopefully, bode well for the future, the near future as in next week.  Hopefully.

 

1. Lindell is on fire.

 

2. Of the 7 third or fourth downs we converted, 5 of them were accomplished by JP.  On third and 14 he ran for 19 keeping our first drive alive.  He scrambled for 3 on 3rd and 2 on our next drive.  Both drives resulted in field goals.  He hit Reed for 17 on a 3rd and 6 keeping alive the drive that ended in our only touchdown.  He hit Aiken for 12 on a 3rd and 6 setting up another field goal.  He also had that QB sneak for a first on 4th and 1 from our own 34 early in the 4th.  As "bad" as he played, he still made some plays.  All the tools are in the box with this kid.  The only question is how long will it take?

 

3. Willis, 140 yards speaks for itself.  Looking inside those numbers, what I really like is what he did on first down.  Before that last drive where they were playing pass and we ran Willis a few times and he piled up 30 yards on 3 first down carries, Willis had 13 first down runs for 45 yards, a 3.4 yard average.  ON 6 of those, he gained better than 3 yards which I think is the benchmark for being able to dictate to the defense on second down.  If you add in the last series, those numbers improve drastically.  I'm not including it just to make that point that even if you take out his best series in terms of first down runs, he still had a good day on first down.  We managed all this with Mike Williams out.

 

4. We only had 3 penalties and two of them were namby pamby calls on what were, on replay, perfectly legit hits on Vick. 

 

As frustrating as this game was to watch, we really did have some opportunities and the difference in the game was their ability to make red zone plays and our inability to do so.  We had two critical blown coverages, one on Jenkin's second TD and another on a play that led to Atlanta's first TD.  We had them at 2nd and 14 and Jenkins was somehow totally uncovered on a 2 yard catch and run that went for over 20 yards.  Conversely, JP was sacked on a first down roll out for a loss of 12 on our first series.  Later we had a 3rd and 4 from the Atlanta 13 and, as is typical, we pulled Willis out and put in Shaud.  We then ran some sort of toss sweep to Fast Freddie who managed to fake himself out of his shoes trying to figure out whether to cut inside or outside the WR's block.

 

Frankly, I think the lack of redzone production was more a product of the calls than execution.  Really, with the game on the line and needing 3 or 4 yards, why would you have the best player on the team on the sidelines drinking Gatorade?

 

Guys, we aren't that bad.  Tampa is 3-0 and Atlanta is going to win their division...again.  If we manage to improve here and there, we are going to be a handful even for the best teams.

454874[/snapback]

 

 

awesome post - please forward to that miserable SOB Jerry Sullivan

 

I dont think Losman is to blame - he had no time at all, and being that he's young it screwed up his timing when he did have time....but I loved that he can make things happen with his legs.....

[Eric in Va]

My silver lining of the day was that I save $254 on my car insurance with GIECO. Boy that made my day.